Tips for removing dried glue

I have always struggled with this.I try to sand all my parts down to 3 grits (120, 150, 180) then dry fit, then assemble with glue.To minimize sanding a assembled piece.I try to use just the right amount, no more…no less. Of course if your doing things correctly you get squeeze-out.So, do I attack it while it’s wet? Hmm, makes a mess sometimes.Do I wait for it to dry, and have to get into some hairy 90 Deg. crevices?I use a cabinet scraper where I can then sand…and sand…and sand.

What do you do?Many, I mean many Mortise & Tenons on this Bed project, and many glue Joints.

Especially on objects that have lots of corners and crevices it is easier to do a dry fit to check assembly and then apply finish to all the objects disassembled. Just tape off the tennons and toss some rags in the mortises. Or tape off the exposed surfaces by the joint and once you’ve assembled you can use a damp cloth to remove excess glue, then remove the tape and finish.

You can prefinish or apply tape where squeeze out is possible or use a card scraper to remove it when it’s dry,better yet remove it just as it firms up but is not dry. push comes to shove you can try to steam or use hot water on areas that not close to joinery.

Nowadays with the strength of modern glues, I try to use a few tricks to keep the amount of glue used to a minimum and keep the squeeze out down, such as leaving a bit of space at the bottom of mortises as a glue “well”, only coat the lower half of the tenon, bevel the shoulders to accommodate room for squeeze-out, etc. I had a near catastrophe with hardened squeeze out on wax paper. What a mess, and time and effort. In my opinion, less glue is more. If you can go off for 30 minutes or so then come back, the glue will be hard enough to scrap off but not so hard as to make removal near impossible without a chisel and hammer, or soft enough to make a mess. If you choose to wipe it off just after clamping, use a tooth brush or nylon brush to scrub out the pores, rather than just taking swipes with a wet rag. It’s the glue pushed down into the pores when wipeing that will cause a problem with the finish.

-- God is great, wood is good. Let us thank Him for wood......and old hand tools.